Visual analytics may be used to explore data. Visual analytics may be conducted using a two dimension (2D) mouse pointing device. Using the 2D mouse pointing may inhibit a user from exploring a third dimension. A user of the 2D mouse pointer may need to focus on visual cues to determine if an object of interest has collided, e.g., touched and/or contacted, with the cursor along a third axis.
Visual analytics may also be conducted using a three dimensional (3D) active infrared proximity motion sensing pointer. A user of the 3D active infrared proximity motion sensing pointer may also need to focus on visual cues to determine if an object of interest has collided with the cursor along the third axis even though the 3D active infrared proximity motion sensing pointer may allow a user to explore a third dimension.